Rick Aguilera
A clutch relief pitcher with a devastating splitter, he anchored the back end of bullpens for two World Series championship teams.
Born 1961 (age 65)·American baseball player·Birthday: December 31·Baby Boomers
Biography
Rick Aguilera was the man you called when the game was on the line. With a calm demeanor and a signature pitch that dove out of the strike zone, he evolved from a middling starter into one of the American League's most reliable closers. His career pivoted after a trade from the Mets, where he won a ring as a starter, to the Minnesota Twins. In Minnesota, he became 'Aggie,' the stopper who locked down the final innings for a perennial contender, securing another championship in 1991 and piling up over 250 saves for the franchise. His consistency was remarkable; for nearly a decade, he was a near-constant presence at the top of the saves leaderboard, a symbol of late-inning stability whose split-finger fastball left countless batters flailing.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Rick was born in 1961, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Rick Was Born
The biggest hits of 1961
#1 Movie
101 Dalmatians
Best Picture
West Side Story
#1 TV Show
Wagon Train
Rick's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1961Born
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1966Started school
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1974Became a teenager
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Could drive
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1979Could vote
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Turned 21
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1991Turned 30
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 40
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 50
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 60
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 65 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Recorded 318 career saves, ranking among the top closers of the 1990s, with a league-leading 42 saves in 1991.
- Won World Series championships with two different teams: the 1986 New York Mets and the 1991 Minnesota Twins.
- Selected to three American League All-Star teams (1991, 1992, 1993) during his peak with the Twins.
- Inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2008 for his franchise-record 254 saves as a Twin.
Did You Know?
He was originally drafted as a shortstop by the St. Louis Cardinals before converting to pitching in college.
He earned the win in the epic 16-inning Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS for the Mets, pitching five scoreless innings of relief.
After his playing career, he served as a pitching coach in the Los Angeles Angels minor league system.
“You have to have a short memory in this job; the next pitch is the only one that matters.”
